The International Business Aviation Council has announced that the Irish Business and General Aviation Association (IBGAA) has joined IBAC as its newest member association.

IBAC director general Kurt Edwards says: “Our member associations are the foundation for increasing awareness and understanding of business aviation and its economic and societal contributions. We are excited to have IBGAA join our efforts to represent, advocate and grow the global business aviation industry. A warm welcome from all of us at IBAC to Josh Stewart, founding chairman of IBGAA, and the entire IBGAA team. We look forward to working with you.”

Josh Stewart adds: “To come on board as the 15th member association of IBAC is a huge honour and a massively important step in our mission to bring Ireland's business and general aviation industry together. As a national non-profit association, IBGAA aims to have an international reach, while actively striving to showcase Ireland as a global hub for business and general aviation opportunities. We are committed to connecting the rest of the world to Ireland, and we believe our membership in IBAC is a fitting validation of our ongoing efforts to contribute to the long-term growth, success and sustainability of our industry, both in Ireland and across the globe.”

The IBGAA is committed to shaping a successful and sustainable future for business and general aviation in Ireland, while facilitating the growth and development of its members' businesses and every sector of the industry.

IBAC has also announced the new IS-BAO Progressive Stage III (PS3) programme as a new Stage III option offered to all qualified IS-BAO registered operators. The beta transition leadership team of operators designed and tested the PS3 over the course of two years.

“This was one of our Vision 2020 initiatives, and I am excited to announce this advanced option is now available to the legacy IS-BAO Stage III group,” notes Bennet Walsh, director of the IS-BAO programme. “Most of the beta PS3 leadership team have been successfully registered as an IS-BAO operator for 10-15 years and have gone through three or more Stage III audits, so their input was crucial to the development of this programme.”

The Progressive Stage III (PS3) was built by operators, for operators, that are looking for a way to advance their Stage III safety system, share data, and take advantage of opportunities to mentor and share their best practices with others. The PS3 beta team included both large and small corporate IS-BAO Stage III operators with mature safety management systems as well as the Progressive auditor group.

“The PS3 initiative demonstrates that business aircraft operators can go beyond simply implementing SMS,” explains Kurt Edwards. “They can emphasise continuous improvement, develop mature safety cultures and share safety knowledge and experience with peers and those earlier along the SMS path. We look forward to growing a truly global PS3 community of operators and Progressive auditors and further enhancing business aviation safety.”

IS-BAO Progressive Stage 3 benefits include: access to exclusive IS-BAO safety database (PS3 shared de-identified data), provided by Baldwin Safety & Compliance; a tailored schedule of audit chapters relevant to the operator; interaction and audit support from highly qualified and credentialed Progressive auditors; additional pathways for continuous improvement; opportunities to participate in IS-BAO progress; PS3 leadership opportunities; and a long term model with subscription options to simplify program management, planning and budgeting.

Walsh concludes: “The mission we share always includes continuous improvement. These Stage III operators live and breathe it every day. I am very proud of the PS3 leadership team and the newly credentialed Progressive auditors that have gone above and beyond to help develop this innovative programme. I am honoured to work along side them all as we strive for risk reduction in a mature culture and other value adds. We look forward to many more Stage III operators transitioning to PS3 in the near future.”